


A Tale of Two Ghosts

by CordensAngels131



Category: Narry - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Harry Styles, Famous Niall Horan, Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Narry - Freeform, Narry fanfic, Non-Famous Harry Styles, Strangers to Lovers, Top Niall Horan, narry au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:15:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CordensAngels131/pseuds/CordensAngels131
Summary: Niall is a lonely rock star, the face for a new charity project. He’ll record a book of spooky stories to be released in time for Halloween. Enter Harry Styles, ace audiobook producer, self-proclaimed bookworm and a loser in the game of love.  When his boss taps Harry for Niall’s charity project, cancelling his vacation plans, it looks to be all tricks no treats this Halloween.
Relationships: Niall Horan/Harry Styles
Comments: 13
Kudos: 94





	A Tale of Two Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences.  
> Please do not repost any part of this fic on this or any other website.

“Figures we’d pick the absolute worst time to call it a night,” Harry grumbles. It’s raining, cats, dogs, maybe even a few guinea pigs, he’s never seen it this bad. A crackle of lightening flashes across the sky, illuminating the river that once was the studio’s car park.

“S’either make a run for it or stay here all night,” Harry mutters as he and Ryan huddle under the awning to avoid the rain.

“I’m running, night H. Enjoy your holiday.”

They worked late, leaving only some final editing for Ryan to complete while Harry takes some well-deserved time off next week. Coming out to this is the last thing they expected. With a loud whoop, Ryan runs for his car and Harry follows, dashing through the puddles to reach his old mini. Sodden curls hang limply across his forehead as he rummages around for a towel. Of course he picked this week to clean out all the detritus that’s collected in it for ages. Now he’s cold and wet with not even a stray drive-thru napkin to wipe the water out of his eyes.

“Fuck,” he says and pulls the hem of his t-shirt up to his face, soaking up the worst of the rain in the damp cotton fabric. He flicks on the wipers, watching his engineer pull onto the street and spray water everywhere when he drives through a puddle . Shivering, he flips on the seat warmer, waiting for the heat to toast his bum. He’s about to put the car in gear when his phone rings.

“Harry?”

“Jack,” he says warily. If his boss is calling this late, it can’t be good news.

“You still at the studio?”

“Just leaving.”

“Great, I need a favor. VIP recording, very high profile. I need the best.”

“No,” Harry’s response is automatic. The heater in the old car finally begins to churn out some warm air and he rubs his hands together in front of the vent.

“C’mon Harry, this is the chance of a lifetime.”

“No. You promised me a holiday.”

“We both know you’re just going to your mum’s. You’ll sit in her garden and read all week. This is a golden opportunity, H. You really want me to pass it to Christian?” Harry’s boss pauses, letting the thought that he might offer an important job to Harry’s biggest rival sink in. “I mean, if you think he can do it better.”

“Fuck you, Jack, you know he’s a pretentious twat.” Harry hears Jack’s deep rumbling laugh and he sighs. Jack has him and he knows it.

“This’ll be the easiest work you’ll have all year and I’ll give you an extra week off.”

“An extra week?” Harry’s tone is skeptical. “Both Ryan and me? Paid?” If he’s offering extra paid leave there must be a catch.

Jack hedges, “Alright, paid. C’mon, H, I need you.”

“Give,” Harry presses, putting the car in gear and easing to the exit. Before merging into traffic, he pushes the button on the steering wheel several times to turn down the volume. When Jack speaks again, his nasal voice comes through the speakers at a more tolerable level.

“Am I on speaker?”

“Course you are, I’m drivin.”

“Fine, listen, it’s a charity gig,” Jack begins to explain.

“Charity? Fuck’s sake, Jack, you mean we’re not getting paid for this?”

“An extra week of paid vacation, remember?”

“In addition to our usual salary, right?”

“C’mon H, it’s charity.”

“We’ve made you a lot of money, you can well afford to pay us.” Harry says as he looks in his rearview mirror to see if he can change lanes.

“The publicity you’ll get for this will more than cover any salary.” When Harry doesn’t respond, Jack tries again. “You still there?”

“I’m here. Look Jack, we both know any publicity for this project will go to the charity, the celebrity, the author and if there’s a slice left over, that scrap will go to you. Ryan and I will be nothing more than a footnote and not even that if they don’t buy a physical copy. No one will ever hear our names,” he says, “and that’s fine, we don’t do this for notoriety. We do this for the paycheck you give us every two weeks and the benefits.”

“Right, you’ll get to work with a celebrity,” Jack counters, “and you’ll certainly be invited to the launch party.”

“Not the kind of benefits I’m talking about, Jack. Insurance and holidays. Ryan’s got kids, he needs both and so do I at the end of the day. What’s it going to be? You said you want the best, all you have to do is say yes,” Harry says, turning on his signal and merging into the left lane. “Consider it part of your donation to the charity.”

“It’s a rush job, we’ve got a week. I need your best effort here.”

“For some crazy charity gig? C’mon Jack.”

“No, this is serious. They want the book ready to release by the first of October. It’s a book of ghost stories so it has to be out for the Halloween lead-up period.”

“Fuckin celebrity narrators,” Harry groans. “That’s two weeks start to finish. What else are you not telling me? Am I gonna have to pay for the privilege of working this project?”

His boss sighs. “Okay, your usual rate and an extra week’s paid holiday. All joking aside, H, this is big. Guy’s name is Niall Horan,”

“Who’s he when he’s at home?”

“Singer of some sort, my kids know him, begged me to bid on the project. The charity board was reluctant to give it to us because we’re a small studio. Let’s show them small studios do better work, yeah?’

“The best work.” Finally, something they agree on.

“Right. He’s going to meet you in the morning at eight. You’ve only got him for a week.”

“He’s a complete amateur and you want all the recording done in a week? Christ almighty, Jack.”

“Please don’t be late, H. I know I can count on you.”

“Yeah yeah, tomorrow at eight. I’ll be there,” Harry agrees and disconnects the call. He dashes from his car, pushing through the door to his flat. After standing under a hot shower ‘til he looks like a prune, Harry walks to the kitchen, perusing the meager contents of his fridge. He needs to go to the shops. Deciding he’s too tired to cook the lone tin of green beans in his cabinet, he grabs a beer and some stale pretzels, carrying them to the sofa and propping his feet on the coffee table. He sends a quick text to Ryan to make sure he’s not been assigned to another producer since Harry is supposed to be off work this week. What the fuck is Jack thinking? Ghost stories? A celebrity narrator? There’s bound to be a fucking entourage they’ll have to contend with and a manager second guessing every move Harry and Ryan make. He sighs, this could quite possibly be the worst thing he’s ever agreed to do.

~~

Harry is running late. The rain finally stopped sometime in the early morning hours, leaving the air cold and damp. Pulling his coat tighter, he crosses the street to nip into the coffee shop. If he comes bearing coffee, surely this guy won’t complain if he’s a few minutes late.

Twenty minutes later, Harry walks through the door of Studio 3A with two trays of coffees and a box of pastries. His engineer Ryan is talking with a handsome young man Harry assumes is the celebrity’s PA. Perhaps he’s been sent ahead of the rest of the circus to present the demands.

“Morning,” he says,“I’m Harry.” He extends his hand to shake. “Is your boss on the way? I got coffees and pastries, what kind would you like?”

“My boss?”

Harry turns to find the PA and Ryan both staring at him as if he’s lost the plot.

“Harry,” Ryan says quietly. “This is Niall Horan, our narrator. He’s just been telling me about the charity this project will support. Sounds like a great cause.”

“Fuck,” Harry mumbles. “Sorry, man, I didn’t,” Harry falters, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“No problem, I’m Niall,” he smiles at Harry and damn he thinks he might melt under the gaze of those ice blue eyes. Harry turns away, dumping his coat on the sofa and dropping keys on the board. He needs a moment to regain his composure. It just won’t do for this guy to think he isn’t competent. He picks up a coffee from the tray and takes a sip, realizing too late it’s not the Americano he ordered for himself but some sweetly flavored coffee the barista recommended to fill out the variety tray he ordered.

“You want a coffee?”

“No thanks, I’ve got tea,” he smiles, holding up a cup. Harry can smell the lemon and honey.

“Right,” he says, still feeling flustered. He sits in his chair, taking a deep breath. “So we’re making an audiobook for your charity. Jack mentioned ghost stories or summat?”

Niall holds up a book. “I purchased the rights to record these. All the profits will go to the charity.”

“Have you had a chance to read them yet? Will you be trying any special voices for characters or just straight reading.”

“I’m not too bad with accents and I’ve been working with a vocal coach the last couple of months.”

“Months? You’ve known that long you were going to do this?”

“Yeah? Been planning it for a good bit. Since I’ve only got a week I didn’t want to waste your time and embarrass myself to boot. I’ve been meeting with her when I can find time between tour rehearsals. We had everything in place but the studio. It was down to this place and one other. Your boss came through. Donated a hundred percent of the studio time and recording costs.”

Harry starts to feel bad for giving Jack such a hard time last night. He could’ve just taken the extra vacation time, but no, Ryan’s got a family to feed and they give enough hours of unpaid overtime. He’ll make sure this is their best work yet, make Jack proud, maybe purchase a few copies of the book when it’s released.

Harry relaxes and shrugs as Ryan explains, “we found out last night.”

“Oh,” Niall says, surprise evident. “Oh.” The tone of the second one more serious as understanding dawns on him.

“Why don’t we try a take. Start at the beginning and read through a page or two. We’ll make a few adjustments on our side to get the vocal levels right.”

“That door take me to the booth?”

Harry looks up and nods. “Yes, let me get that for you,” he says, jumping up to open the door. After showing Niall the equipment he adjusts his microphone and offers him a stool in case he wants to sit.

“You can put your book and notes here,” Harry says, placing a lecturn beside him. “You good?”

“Do I get a headset?”

“Oh right, hang on,” Harry snaps his fingers and walks out of the booth, returning a moment later with a new box.

“These are nice,” Niall observes, taking them out of the box and fitting them over his ears.

“There’s no playback to start. I know you’re probably used to that when you record music. This is all you for now. Later on, when we begin editing and correcting mistakes, you’ll hear something.”

Niall grins, “oh right,” he says with a little embarrassed laugh, “and here I was going on about not wasting your time.”

“You haven’t, no worries. Now, you okay? Ready to try one?”

Niall nods and moves the stand in front of him, to organize his book and the notes he’s made. Harry returns to the desk and flicks the switches to turn on his board.

With Niall safely out of earshot, Harry hears Ryan snickering next to him.

“Fuck’s sake, why didn’t you tell me he wasn’t a PA?”

“Do you live under a rock? He’s only the biggest rock start in the country,” Ryan laughs, turning on his computer and opening the program that will help him monitor the takes and edit the recording. “They play his songs on Radio 1 ten times an hour.”

“That’s a bit much.” Harry doesn’t know much about radio or the music business but that seems like oversaturation. “Don’t people get sick of him.”

“I’m exaggerating but no, they never get sick of him. You should listen to some of his music, he’s good. I almost shit my pants when he walked through the door this morning.”

“I figured we’d have his team to contend with. Don’t people like him usually travel with a crowd?”

“Yeah but he turned up on his own. Said he came on the tube.’

“Huh,” Harry considers this. then pushes the intercom button, “okay, Niall, anytime you’re ready.”

Focused on the board, Harry isn’t prepared for the deep, assured voice coming through the speakers. 

“A Tale of Two Ghost and Other Spooky Stories.” As Niall reads through the first story, Harry’s so mesmerized by the way he changes it for each character, growing more and more animated as the story reaches its climax, it takes Harry a moment to realize that Ryan is talking to him. “I hope you’re recording,” Harry says, not taking his eyes off Niall.

“That’s what I just told you. Damn, he’s good. Don’t stop him.”

They let Niall continue til he reaches the end of the first story. When he stops and looks up at them, Harry pushes the button on the intercom. “Okay, I think we might keep that first take. We’ll have a little listen to it, see if you want to make any changes, but let’s get another one just in case.”

“Seriously?” Niall bites his lower lip thinking about the take and Harry watches him closely. There’s something about him, he’s starting to like this guy. “I think I could do that part where the witch talks to the kids a little better. Could we do another take?’

“Absolutely. Whenever you’re ready.”

Harry and Ryan start the recording and Harry nods to Niall. This time as he reads through it, he lets out an evil cackle during the witch’s conversation with the lost children. Harry doesn’t generally like scary stories but he’s mesmerized watching Niall bring it to life.

This time he’s almost to the end of the story when he makes his first mistake, muttering, “fuck’s sake, Horan.”

Harry breaks in over the intercom, “No worries. Just keep going, we’ll edit out the mistake.”

After four hours of recording, they’re all satisfied they have enough perfect takes of the first story to edit the final version. Niall leaves the booth to run to the toilet and Harry looks over at Ryan. “How many of these stories have we got?”

“Ten stories. He gets more comfortable with each take. That first one was good, but he was nervous.”

“Really?”

Ryan smiles, he’s never seen Harry so besotted by anyone they’ve had in their booth. “I think we can get through it in the next couple of days. I can work on the editing at night after he leaves.”

“We’ll see, you need family time too.”

“My kids are gonna love this shit. They’ll sacrifice a couple of nights with dad to get this as a Halloween treat.”

When Niall returns, he joins Harry and Ryan, the three men gathering jackets as they prepare for lunch. When they return in the afternoon, they start the second story. Harry is surprised again to hear the different characterizations Niall’s chosen to use.

“He’s pretty good,” Harry murmurs to Ryan.

“Yeah, kind of like he’s one of the world’s biggest recording artists.”

“Shut it, being a singer doesn’t automatically translate to narrating a book, especially stories like these. That takes some talent.”

At the end of the day, Niall invites them to have a drink in the pub up the road.

“Thanks, but I’m going to get a head start on this editing. You guys go ahead. We can start tomorrow with playback to see what you think, then move on to the next story.”

“I can’t leave you alone,” Harry protests but Ryan insists. “Go, have a pint for me. I’ll work faster if you’re not hovering over me. See you both in the morning.”

Harry pulls on his jacket. “Don’t stay too late.”

“Yeah yeah,” Ryan mutters, placing his headset over his ears and focusing on the monitor.

“You sure you want to do this? You don’t need security or anything?”

“Why, you gonna attack me?”

Harry laughs, Niall doesn’t know how close he’s come to doing just that all day long. They tell the guard good night as they exit into the twilight. “Ryan says you’re a pretty big deal. I’m afraid I don’t follow popular music.”

“S’alright. My next tour starts in a couple weeks. I’ll send you guys passes if you want to check out a show. Who know, you might like it.”

“Ryan’s got kids and they’d probably think he’s the greatest dad in the world if you let him bring them.”

“Well, we definitely need to keep his kiddos happy, but what about you?”

After they order their food and drinks, Niall leads the way to an empty table. Harry notices a few people watch him, not sure whether he’s the real deal or a very clever lookalike.

Harry drapes his coat over the back of the chair and stretches his long legs beneath the table. “Does it bother you?” He plucks two beer mats from the stack on the windowsill and slides one over to Niall, putting the other under his glass.

“Thanks,” Niall takes a sip of Guinness and sighs. “Does what bother me?”

Amused, Harry sits back in his chair. “Being watched all the time? Everyone in here is talking about you. There’s two people over there acting like they’re checking their phones but it’s clear they’re taking photos.”

Niall shrugs, “it used to bother me a good bit but you learn to ignore it. They’re not quite sure it’s me are they?”

“How d’you know?”

Niall shrugs, “I can usually get through a meal before one of them gets brave, but realize you’ll be all over social media by morning.”

Harry squints at him in confusion. “Just how famous _are_ you?”

Niall can’t help the loud laugh that escapes. “It’s just part of the job. I get to stand on a stage and play music for thousands of people every night. A few pictures is a small price for me, but it makes getting t’know someone hard.”

“Must make dating anyone a bit tricky.”

“I don’t do much of that, to be honest. What about you?”

“Me? Well, if you’re not getting any, you can imagine I’m getting even less,” Harry laughs.

“What makes you say that? You’re a good looking fella.”

“With me, guys tend to, what’s the phrase, hit it and quit it?” Harry laughs. He knows his cultural references are about ten years out of date. He just can’t be bothered keeping up with all of it when there are so many good books he hasn’t read.

“You’re gay?”

“Sorry, does that make you uncomfortable?”

“Not at all. It actually makes you infinitely more interesting,” Niall smiles back at him. “You just pick terrible partners or what?”

“I got hurt a few years ago and now I pick partners that I know won’t last so I don’t have to go through that again.”

“That’s pretty insightful.”

“Yeah, well, I paid good money to my therapist for that insight,” Harry laughs wryly. “She has great confidence that someone will come along who will make me want to take a chance again. I’m not so sure.”

“You’re young, you never know. Feels like now is the time we should meet lots of people, figure out what we want.”

“Traveling the world, you must do a fair bit of that,” Harry observes.

“I meet lots of people but there’s never enough time to connect with them.”

“So what did you think of today?” Harry’s eager to change the subject before he says something he shouldn’t. He’s got Harry telling him way too much and that’s never good. That leads to getting hurt and several more sessions with his therapist.

Niall takes a sip and considers. “It was interestin, yeah. Definitely different than my normal days in the studio.”

“You ever listen to an audiobook?”

“No, but one of the guys in my band listens to them all the time. S’where I got the idea for this project. I mean, ghost stories are so much better when they’re spoken right? I read mostly history and poetry so maybe I’ll opt for one next time I pick up a book.”

“You read?”

Niall cocks an eyebrow. “I’m not a dummy.”

Abashed, Harry shakes his head, “no, no, I didn’t mean that. Everyone has different things they like to do. Books aren’t for everyone.”

“You think I’m a typical musician, sleeps all day, parties all night, hasn’t cracked a book since he left school.”

Harry can feel his cheeks burning at being caught out. “No, I,” he starts to say but Niall waves him off.

“I’ll admit, I hated it when I was in school, but the last few years, when I’m still hyped up from a show and can’t get to sleep, I read all night sometimes. Always keep a stack of books on the tour bus. Especially poetry.”

“Poetry?” Now Harry is intrigued.

“Helps with the song writing,” Niall explains before emptying his glass. He signals their server for another and looks back at Harry.

“I see,” Harry nods, “so poetry and history. I think I’ve only produced one history non-fiction book. No poetry, I’ll have to check that out. You read anything else? I mainly produce fiction. I could send you something of mine, break you into audiobooks the right way.”

A slow smile spreads over Niall’s face. “Thanks, that’s really, yeah, I’d like that.” They sit, smiling a little goofily at one another for a moment longer than necessary before Niall asks, “you ever narrate anything? You’ve got a great voice.”

Harry’s eyes get wide at the compliment and he grins. “Thanks. I’ve done it a couple times when budgets are tight and they need someone on the cheap but I think I’m better on the board.”

They stop talking when their server approaches to deliver their food. When he walks away, Niall continues. “Really? Send me those, I wanna listen.”

Harry shakes a bit of malt vinegar on his fish and pops a chip into his mouth. “Absolutely not,” he says after swallowing. “No.”

“You know I have people who can find things,” Niall laughs. “You might as well give it up.”

“So you do have an entourage?” Harry questions, turning the tables on Niall.

“I don’t have shit, but it sounded good didn’t it?”

“Yeah, it ddid,” he admits. “Okay, send me the worst song you’ve ever written and I’ll trade you one of my audiobooks.”

Niall’s head pops up. “Sold,” he smiles and reaches across the table to shake Harry’s hand.

“Fuck, I thought you’d say no,” Harry admits as he hesitantly shakes. It’s a bit rough, fingertips calloused and Harry likes the feel of them against his smoother hands.

“You must have great moisturizer, what d’you use? My skin’s always a wreck cause of the guitar.”

So that’s why his hands are rough. Harry wonders what they would feel like sliding over his thighs.

“I’ll write it down for you.”

“What are you? Seventy? Here,” Niall teases, “give me your mobile, I’ll put m’number in then you can text it to me.” Niall inwardly congratulates himself. Getting his number was easier than he thought it would be. “Wait, you do have one, right?”

Harry pauses for a long moment, drawing out the tension before he smiles. “Okay.” Harry laughs at the relief that washes over Niall’s face. He pulls it out and opens a new contact before handing it across the table.

When Niall looks at the phone he laughs. “You put me in as Superstar?”

“I reckon you don’t want your number getting out if I were to lose my phone.”

“And you think Superstar is the best way to hide it?”

“Look at me? Do you think people are gonna think a bookworm like me would have the number of someone like you?

Niall laughs and enters his number in the phone. As he hands it back across the table he says, “now text me the name so I’ll have it.”

Harry does as he’s asked and hears the ping of the message arriving seconds later.

Niall opens his phone and saves Harry’s number to his contacts, holding it up so Harry can see he’s now Bookworm in Niall’s phone.

“Bookworm,” he smiles, “I like that you pay attention.” Harry pulls out his wallet to pay for their meal.

Niall grabs the tray with the check. “Nope, I invited you, I got this.”

After some playful arguing, Harry relents. He sighs as he stands. He could get used to nights like this.

As they weave their way through the bar toward the door a couple of girls approach Niall and ask for a photo. He speaks with them for a moment and Harry steps outside, out of the way of those waiting for a table.

When Niall exits, he finds Harry waiting on the sidewalk.

“This was nice,” he says, bumping his shoulder against Harry’s.

Harry looks over to see Niall smiling and a small part of him wants to see the gesture as flirting but that would mean most of the night they’ve been flirting. Have they?

The night is cool and both men walk with their hands stuffed in their pockets. When they reach the car park outside the studio, Niall slows but takes a couple more steps away from Harry. “Tube’s just up there.”

“Oh, right,” Harry says, disappointed that the night is ending and wondering if he should offer him a ride home.

Niall takes another step away from him. “See you in the morning?”

“Yeah,” Harry pauses as if he wants to say something else.

“What?”

“Thanks for dinner. Best night I’ve had in a while.”

“Me too,” Niall agrees. “Let’s do it again sometime.”

When neither of them can think of a reason to stay longer they nod, say goodnight and head their separate ways.

~~

On Friday morning before Harry locks the door to his flat, he texts Niall to see if he wants a tea. He’s done it each day now but Niall usually says no. He’s surprised and please when Niall accepts the offer, explaining he’s running late. Harry knows today is likely his last day working with Niall. A couple nights they ordered food in while they continued to record and then last night, they went for sushi. They’ve recorded all the stories and they’ll spend today doing any extra bits Ryan needs to work his editing magic. Niall’s tour opens next weekend and Harry knows he’ll be busy preparing. Best that it ends this way. He’s sure his number will be deleted from Niall’s phone as soon as the project is over and fair enough, Harry thinks, at least he won’t have to follow popular music to keep up with Niall’s career.

When he rushes into the studio, a few minutes late again, Niall’s fingertips brush across the back of Harry’s hand when he reaches for his tea.

After a sip he smiles. “You remembered the honey and lemon.”

“I pay attention too,” Harry grins back at him. Throughout the day, Harry finds himself staring through the window, delighting in Niall’s furrowed brow as he concentrates on voicing the characters as they tell their story. With the day winding down, Ryan prepares to leave a little early for an appointment, queuing the final edit of the first story so Harry can play it for Niall.

When Ryan leaves, Niall passes him on his way out the door and takes Ryan’s seat next to Harry.

“You think you got everything you need?”

“More than enough.”

“How d’you think it went?”

“You did all the work, how did it feel?”

Niall laughs. “You don’t like answerin questions do you?”

“No more than you like wearing your glasses, even though you need them,” Harry observes, enjoying the flirtation.

“Busted,” Niall says, reaching for his jacket and pulling out a case. He slips on the glasses and when Harry looks up he has to force himself to stay in his seat. Sitting across from him is the embodiment of his teenage fantasy. “Fuck,” Harry whispers.

Niall jerks the glasses off. “See why I don’t wear them? Look like a twat.”

Harry shakes his head slowly. “No,” he assures him. “Definitely not.” Harry moves in his seat, jeans growing uncomfortably tight. Picking the glasses up from the desk, Harry places them back on Niall’s face. “That’s better,” he smiles.

Surprised by Harry’s actions, Niall stares back at him, amused now and a bit breathless with anticipation. He likes Harry but being Niall Horan usually means a flurry of paperwork and non-disclosure forms before he can actually date anyone. “Thanks.” He wants to move closer but hesitates. Instead he says, “can I hear part of it?”

“Don’t you listen to yourself?”

“Yeah, but it’s different when you’re reading it than listening to a recording.”

Harry slides his chair closer to Niall and pulls the keyboard tray out. After making a few clicks, Niall’s voice fills the room.

“A Tale of Two Ghosts by Thomas Butler. It’s a dark and stormy night. Thunder rumbles loud enough to shake the house. Collin’s fingers fumble for a torch when he hears thunder again. Moments later lightening streaks across the sky, illuminating the room foor an instant and he sees the ghostly presence moving toward him.” They both jump when the hear the sound effects Ryan added in the background.

Niall laughs uneasily, “wasn’t expectin that. Makes it so real.”

“It’s perfect,” Harry agrees.

“Will he do that for all of them?”

“If it fits the story. Effects shouldn’t be intrusive; the story is the star. We don’t get to work with them often, he’s obviously had some fun with this.”

The air is thick with desire and Harry slowly raises his hand to Niall’s face. The stubble scratches his palm but Harry guides him closer, moving in to softly brush their lips together.

Niall’s lips are soft and warm and fuck he tastes like honey and lemon. When Harry sits back, his fingertips touch his lips. Looking away and back at Niall, he can’t help smiling.

Niall watches him, knowing he should walk out, shouldn’t start anything with Harry. He’s about to go on tour and he doesn’t want Harry to think he’s like all the other men in his life. He stares into Harry’s eyes for a long moment. Fuck tour, fuck the paperwork, he thinks. Leaning forward he grabs the fabric of Harry’s shirt and pulls him closer. This time when their lips meet, the kiss is more fervent, the flame ignited and burning brightly now.

“Can we go to yours?”Niall’s lips are close to Harry’s ear, teeth tugging on his ear lobe. His hand rests on Harry’s thigh and he wonders again about the feel of the rough fingertips against his skin. “Yours is closer.”

“I’ll drive,” Harry murmurs. They’re out the door in record time. Still wearing his glasses, Niall pulls on a beanie, looking almost unrecognizable.

Minutes later when they push through the door to Harry’s flat, Niall is on him, Harry pulls the beanie off, dropping it on the floor next to their coats.

“Harry,” Niall murmurs, pushing his hips against Harry’s thigh. His fingers make quick work of his shirt buttons and clothes begin to fall to the floor as they walk toward Harry’s bedroom. He pulls Niall onto the bed and when he reaches for his glasses, Harry stops him.

“Please don’t,” Harry asks, catching Niall’s lips.

“Why?”

“You’re quite possibly the hottest thing I’ve ever seen when you wear them,” Harry admits.

“You’re mad,” Niall laughs, snapping the waistband of Harry’s underpants.

“You in those glasses is my every wet dream come to life,” Harry says, laboring to breathe when Niall palms him, the thin cotton material unable to restrain Harry’s hardening cock.

Niall rolls on top of him, fingers raking through his hair and kissing him deeply. “I’m going on tour soon,” he whispers breathlessly.

“Does that mean this is a one night stand?” It’s not what he wants but one night is better than nothing.

Niall leans back, dodging Harry’s attempts to kiss him by rolling back onto the bed. “Is that what you want?”

“No,” Harry forces himself to admit. For the first time in a long time he wants this man to know him, the him he never lets anyone else see.

“S’not what I want either,” Niall murmurs against his lips. “I don’t want to be like the other men in your life. I’ll be gone for a bit but when I come back, as soon as I step off the plane, I’ll be knockin at your door. You just need to know that papers write shit about me all the time and they post pictures. Last year I was at an awards show and another musician yelled hello. I walked over to him and said great to see you, literally two seconds but there must’ve been fifty photos and they made it look like we were long lost lovers just reuniting. I can’t control shit like that.”

Harry smiles, “I don’t read the papers,” he says, nuzzling in to Niall’s neck.

Niall rolls on top of him, hips pushing firmly against Harry’s thickening cock. Reaching for the glasses, he puts them back on and kisses Harry. “Tell me about those fantasies.”

“Fuck me,” Harry murmurs as Niall’s teeth find his nipple and gently tug.

“Mmm, I like this fantasy. Tell me more.”

Niall pushes at Harry’s underpants and he lifts his hips up, almost causing Niall to roll off of him. Harry’s arms catch him and pull Niall’s down, needing them to be skin on skin.

“Touch me,” Harry begs and Niall does. Taking Harry between his lips, he groans when he sees Niall looking up at him, blue eyes peering innocently from behind the glasses. He closes his eyes for a moment to keep from exploding.

Sensing Harry isn’t going to last much longer, Niall pulls off and fishes a condom from his pocket. “You got lube?”

Harry fumbles through the drawer and finds some. “It’s been a while,” he warns him.

Niall crawls over Harry and lays beside him, kissing along his jaw. “If you want to wait, there’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere.”

Harry rolls over and captures Niall’s lips, pulling him up so they’re face to face as he straddles his thighs. “I’ve wanted you since the day I walked through the door and thought you were a PA,” he admits, kissing Niall and reaching for his hands. He wants to feel those rought fingertips scrape across his ass. Grinding against Niall now, breath hot against his hear. “You wanted to know my fantasy, this is it. Fuck me.”

Harry reaches for the lube and drips some on Niall’s fingers. When the first finger gently pushes against his hole, Harry grips both their cocks, slowly stroking in sync with Niall’s thrusts. It doesn’t take long before Harry is a moaning mess, begging for Niall. He reaches for the condom, rolling it over Niall’s thick, hard cock. As Harry lifts his hips, Niall pushes the tip against the tight muscle and Harry slowly sinks onto him. With his arms wrapped around Niall’s shoulders, he begins to move.

“Fuck, Harry,” Niall murmurs as teeth sink into his shoulder. “You okay, baby? Take it out on me.” Niall knows that even though Harry wants this, it must be burning and he doesn’t want to hurt him. “There’s no rush, we’ve got all night,” Niall whispers and slides a hand over the smooth skin of Harry’s back. His finger tips rake through the wispy hairs at the nape of Harry’s neck and he looks down at Niall, eyes shining. Not losing eye contact, Harry rests his head against Niall’s fingers and begins to move. Niall scratches, very softly eliciting a moan from Harry.

“Don’t stop,” Harry sighs.

He bites at the nipple again, continuing to play with the curls that are now forming as sweat begins to form at the hairline.

Niall looks up at Harry, letting his teeth slowly release the nipple before capturing his lips.

Harry moves faster now, grinding his hips into Niall.

Niall is close and he senses Harry’s body tightening.

“Can you put your fingers on m’thighs? Please?”

Niall loves that he’s so willing to give direction, to say what he wants. Realizing it’s the callouses he wants to feel against his skin, Niall slowly slides them across his inner thigh, feeling teeth on his shoulder again. This time, Harry scratches the skin across Niall’s back at the touch.

They’re both tightly coiled springs, ready to explode.

“Harry,” Niall murmurs, placing a hand on Harry’s hip and squeezing, calloused fingertips biting into his ass.

With a long, low growl, Harry releases onto Niall’s tummy. His hips continue to move as he drapes his arms around Niall’s shoulders and buries his face in his neck.

As Harry’s walls squeeze around him, riding out his high, Niall explodes into the condom, body arching against Harry’s. He knows he’s squeezing his ass too hard, there’ll be marks there tomorrow but all he hears is Harry’s voice softly whispering, “please.”

They sit motionless for a long moment, taking deep ragged breaths in an attempt to regain control.

Niall finds Harry’s lips and kisses him tenderly. “You’re amazing,” he says, brushing curls from Harry’s forehead.

Harry nods, still trying to breathe. “You too,” is all he can manage at the moment. Niall doesn’t move, let’s Harry stay there as long as he needs. When he finally sighs and lifts his hips, he falls onto the bed.

“Be right back,” Niall says and slips into the bathroom to dispose of the condom and wash off his tummy. When he returns, Harry wraps himself around Niall.

They lay in bed, talking for a bit before Harry goes for water and Niall follows him. When Niall wraps arms around his waist as he stands at the counter, Harry relaxes into the embrace.

“Should probably close the blinds if we’re going t’stand here naked,” he laughs but doesn’t move as Niall kisses across his shoulders. They drink their water standing in the kitchen then Harry leads him back to bed. He orders food and they eat while talking and listening to the rain that beats against the windows of Harry’s flat.

This is a million miles away from the people and places that populate Niall’s life. Here in Harry’s small one-bedroom flat, surrounded by books, he couldn’t be happier.

~~

When the audiobook is released, a few weeks before Halloween, Niall is in Tampa staring at a computer propped on a shelf in the tour bus.

“I see lots of books there, is that your tour bus?”

“Yeah, it is, me and the boys, we like tradin books back and forth.”

“So why an audiobook? Why not just do a concert and donate the profits?”

“they’ll make more money with a book than they would the profits of one of my shows,” Niall teases. “Seriously, we wanted to do something a little different and I remember growing up and camping out with my mates, telling ghost stories around the fire. I wanted t’share that. The whole project, it’s close to my heart and yeah, means a lot t’me.”

They spend a few more minutes chatting before wrapping it up. When Niall clicks the phone button to end the conversation, his mobile lights up, Bookworm displayed across his home screen.

“Harry?”

“I watched your interview,” he says and Niall can hear the smile in his voice. “The book is selling so fast. The head of the charity already called Jack saying he wants to do another book.”

“Congratulations, that’s fantastic.”

“It’s all down to you. Where are you performing tonight?”

“Tampa, it’s hot as fuck here. I’m melting.”

Harry laughs, “s’cold here, wish I was with you. Like you when you’re all sweaty.”

“I’ll have a break in a few weeks and I’ll fly home.”

“You know, Jack gave me an extra week of vacation for taking on your project at the last minute. Could take my hols in a couple of weeks and maybe meet you somewhere.” The suggestion is tentative, Harry’s clearly testing the waters and doesn’t know how Niall will react.

“Will you play golf with me?”

“I’ll be terrible but I will let you teach me.”

“You’d do that?”

“Course I would, on one condition.”

“Name it,” Niall says.

“I have a book I want you to read to me.”

“Fuck off, you’re mad,” Niall laughs, “but yes, if you lay next to me and give me a cuddle, I’ll read to you. Send me the book so I can practice.”

“Have a great show tonight Superstar.”

“Night, Bookworm, see you in fourteen days,” Niall says, excited now.

“Thirteen days, eleven hours and twenty-two minutes.”

“Already booked your ticket, have you? Bold of you. How d’you know where we’re meeting?”

“Mmm,” Harry agrees. “I think it’ll be near a golf course,” he laughs. “Do I need to bring my clubs?”

“You own clubs?”

“Yeah,” Harry tells him.

“You’re a fuckin ringer, aren’t ya. Gonna come out there, dressed in a bunch of crazy golf gear, actin like you don’t know shit and you’ll beat the pants off me.”

“Well, if that’s what it’ll take t’get your pants off, I’ll do it.”

“You know it doesn’t take much Bookworm.”

“Good t’know. Now if I’m going to be a crazy golfer for Halloween, what’re you going to be? Am I gonna get a trick or a treat?”

“All treats,” Niall grins, “I got a big one just for you.” Niall tilts the phone and grabs his dick for Harry to see.

“Tease,” Harry laughs, “go sing songs for the nice people, Superstar. My ice cream’s melting. Text and tell me where to book my ticket.”

“Miss you Bookworm,” Niall sighs and disconnects the call. He smiles. The project was meant to raise money for the home health organization that takes care of his grandmother. He never expected to find Harry, with his long legs and easy smile. Taking his mobile to the sofa, he stretches out. Time for a nap before he has to get ready for the show. After fitting his ear buds in his ears, he starts the only audiobook he has on his phone. Harry’s rich, deep voice resonates in his ears and he closes his eyes.

Across an ocean, Harry sorts through the shopping in search of the ice cream. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer he opens it but before he takes a bite he says, “Alexa, play my Superstar playlist.”

**Author's Note:**

> All treats no tricks 😊 Happy Narryween!
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you liked it, plese consider tapping the kudos heart. Leave a comment here or come find me on Tumblr at CordensAngels131 and let me know what you think.


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